Supernatural: A Little Grace and Memories
by SashaMorwood
Summary: OC/Dean. She was his guardian, his protector. She was never supposed to fall for him. She died for him, but the big guy upstairs brought her back. Now she's only got one problem; she's got to play by the rules. The angels have wiped all memory of the Winchesters, & now she's out for blood. She wants revenge on the man who took her life & will kill anyone who gets in her way.
1. Wallowing in Daniels

For two years he sat and stared out of every window of every sleazy motel we went to. For two years he waited, waited for her to come back.

Sam hadn't seen him like this since their father died three years ago. He barely talked to anyone, didn't want to go hunting, wouldn't touch a single slice of pie and couldn't even bring himself to buy Busty Asian Beauties anymore.

He just wasn't...well, he just wasn't Dean.

The two brothers had been staying at Bobby's for a few days, gathering up some new resources for the road.

Dean hadn't spoken to either of them all day.

Instead he merely wandered around the house with a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand, not even bothering to find himself a glass.

When they first arrived, Bobby took one look at him, shook his head and let them in. Muttering "Poor bastard." as Dean headed straight for Bobby's liquor store in the basement.

While Dean was down there, Sam told Bobby the whole story. He could only tell him parts over the phone, the line was bad and Dean was sleeping in the back seat of the Impala at the time.

By the end Bobby got up and went down to the liquor store too. When the two of them came back up stairs, Dean's eyes were red raw and Bobby looked on the verge of tears himself. The both had a bottle in their hands.

Sam didn't ask Dean if he was okay. He was there when it happened. No one would be okay after that. Not even Dean.

It was hard for Sam to see his brother like that. So fragile. Dean was supposed to be the strong one in the family. The warrior, the one that everyone could count on to be there.

They broke him. He just had nothing left.

But when that doorbell rang, it was like the Earth had shifted.

A small trace of a smile played on Dean's lips, a hint of excitement and longing appeared in his eyes. He jumped right off the couch and he almost ran for the door.

The rain hadn't let up for days, and that's part of the reason they'd stayed so long. Grey clouds covered the sky and lightning flashed in the distance as Dean pulled open the door.

There she was. Just like that. Standing there in the pouring rain. She was wearing the same clothes she had on her when they last saw her. Dean's sigh was one of relief and happiness.

But good things never last long out here.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you. My car broke down and my phone's dead. Would I be able to use yours to call a tow?"

Silence echoed throughout the wholes house. Sam and Bobby had now come to see who was at the door. They too were speechless.

She didn't remember.


	2. Ravenhill

"Remind me again why we're here?"

"We're meeting someone and she knows a lot more about demons than we do."

"How is that possible. I mean, we've ganked like over a hundred of the bastards this week! And we've got Bobby."

Castiel sighed as they entered the bar.

Guns 'n' Roses was blasting through the speakers of the Ravenhill club as Cas, Dean and Sam sat down in one of the red leather booths. Now this was the kind of bar Dean liked.

"This isn't about killing them Dean. This is about getting information out of them. Your methods obviously have not worked so far so we've decided to try a new approach..."

The boys turned to Cas, "What kind of new approach?" asked Sam, his eyebrows raised.

Cas avoided their eyes. "Well -" Cas avoiding the topic usually meant that the result of what they were about to do would not end well.

He was cut off as a waitress came to their table, "Alright, what can I get -"

She stopped and stared at the men at the table. Of all the booths she could have went to. Her long brown hair was tied back in a bun and her green eyes bore into Cas', "What are _you _doing here?"

The boys were surprised at the anger in her voice. She then turned her gaze to Dean. He wasn't supposed to be here. Not now. Well that's just great, she thought, the angels screwed up yet again.

"We need your help."

"No kidding. You guys made one hell of a mess, d'you know that? You've pissed off both sides by locking up both Michael and Lucifer. Congratulations, you're the most wanted guys on the planet."

"Don't you think we know that already?" asked Dean, "You gonna help us or not?"

She eyed him critically, "That depends."

"On what?" asked Sam, edging closer in his seat.

She leaned in over the table, "On what's in it for me."

Castiel looked up at her, "I only have one offer."

"And what's that?"

"I'll sever the bond."

Dean and Sam both looked at him, The girl's eyes seemed to glaze over as she absorbed what Castiel had just uttered to her. _Sever the bond. _Could he really do that? Could he finally end it after all this time?

"What the hell does that mean?" demanded Dean.

"None of your business, that's what!" she snapped as she awoke from her trance.

She glared at Dean as Castiel raised his hand out to her, "Do we have a deal?"

"Fine. Meet me at my house at midnight, that's when I get off work. We'll discuss your little problem there."

She turned to walk away as Cas called to her, "It was nice to see you again, Sasha. It's been too long."

"Get us three beers if you have the time!" shouted Dean. Sasha replied by giving him a gesture with her middle finger.

"Damn Cas, where have you been hiding her?" Dean's eyes followed her as she left. Man, was she beautiful.

Castiel tilted his head, "What do you mean? I haven't been hiding her. She's been living in Lunafalls for ten years."

Dean rolled his eyes as, surprisingly, a waiter came over with three bottles of Bud, "Never mind."


	3. Balthazar, But Not Balthazar

Just as the clock on the wall struck midnight, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come on in, Cas. The door's open." called Sasha from the kitchen

The creaking of the floorboards signalled his entrance, and the presence of two others.

Castiel and the Winchester boys stood in the hallway. Dean had a bag slung over his shoulder, as did Sam.

"Hello Sasha."

"Evening, Cas. So, what can I do for ya?" asked Sasha, getting a beer from the fridge and handing it to him.

"I believe you're aware of our current situation." he announced.

"Yeah, I'm aware." she replied as she walked towards the cabinet in the living room. She removed a bottle from the shelf and poured herself one on the rocks.

"That whiskey?" asked Dean.

Sasha glanced at him. "No, it's apple juice." she said sarcastically.

"Look is there a reason you came here or...?"

"Yes. We need you to call Balthazar."

Sasha froze and the boys looked to Cas, "Balthazar? I thought he was your angel buddy?" asked Dean.

"There is an angel by the name of Balthazar, yes. But there is also a demon who bears the same name." announced Sasha.

"You're kidding." said Sam.

"I kid you not, Sammy." Sasha turned to face him and smiled, "And he's got his hands wrapped tightly round your little soul."

The silence that followed her comment was priceless.

"What? Wait a minute, I thought Death had the rights on Sam's soul." said Dean after a few more seconds.

"Death? Please. Death has no interest in you anymore. Balthazar on the other hand, well, he's very interested."

"And why's that?" asked Sam.

Sasha couldn't meet their eyes and quickly turned her back on them as Castiel spoke up, "Why he is interested in you does not matter. What matters is how we get Sam's soul back. We need your help, Sasha."

"Fine. But if I do this, we're done. You cut all ties and leave me the hell alone, got it?"

Cas nodded. Then her eyes turned black and thunder sounded in the distance.

Sasha opened her eyes as lightening struck just outside the house. She sighed. "He's here."

Sasha unsheathed the blade from her pocket and walked out onto the porch.

Balthazar was standing in the middle of the garden. He smiled at her, like an old friend would, and gently bowed his head. He was wearing his usual gear; black leather jacket, grey t-shirt , jeans and combat boots.

"Lovely to see you again. It's been too long." He shook his head as he saw what she was carrying in her hand. "Now, now Sasha. Don't you trust me anymore? We were friends once."

"That was before you betrayed me and had me thrown out of hell." Her voice was cold and her eyes burned with hatred.

Blathazar sighed, "YOU BETRAYED ME!" he bellowed. Sasha flinched from the anger in his voice. Suddenly he seemed to get a grip on his emotions and clapped his hands together, "Now, I assume you called me down here for a reason. Something to do with little Sammy Winchester over there, am I right?"

She nodded and Balthazar shook his head. "You know I can't do what you ask of me."

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't." He said finally.

"Come on, I know you have a price, so name it."

He looked up at her. It had been many years since he'd since her last. Over a century at least. "I have a price." he agreed. "A price which I view as fair under these circumstances."

"So what is it?" she asked

"You." He gave no explanation and he didn't have to. He wanted payback, revenge for the hurt she had caused him.

"The usual drill? 24 hours torture and then returned to my body without a scratch.?"

"In this case I believe a week will do. But yes, you will bring back nothing but memories. You're a demon, you can handle it, right?"

Dean nearly choked on his tongue, "A demon?" he rounded on Cas, "She's a freakin' demon? Why the hell didn't you tell us?"

"Because I knew how you'd react, now be quiet." Dean raised his eyebrows at being told what to do by the angel but he didn't talk after that.

Sasha tried to ignore what had just happened but she knew Balthazar had heard every word. "Ahh, you didn't tell him? Keeping secrets again, are we? You know, you really shouldn't hide things from your warrior Sasha, it doesn't do too well for his mind."

(What the hell is he talking about?) she could hear Dean whisper in the background. She tried to block out his voice.

"And in return?" she shouted down to Balthazar.

"I'll give Sammy his soul back."

He knew she wouldn't refuse his offer. This was their last shot.

Sasha swallowed as she contemplated what she was about to do. She looked to Cas and he nodded to her. A sign that this was something she had to do. No one else could get Sam his soul back. This was their last chance.

"I'll do it."

Again silence followed them. A smile played on Balthazar's lips as he held out his hand for her to take. She took a deep breath and walked out into the garden. Before she took his hand, Sasha turned back to Cas, "You can tell him if you want. It's your decision. It won't make a difference after this."

And just like that, she was gone. Enveloped in a cloud of black smoke.

Dean, Sam and Castiel stood there on the porch for a few more minutes before Dean spoke up, "You mind telling us what that was all about?"

"First, I need a drink. Then we'll talk." Cas made a break for the whiskey cabinet as Dean scratched his head in confusion. Sam was still in shock at the fact that he was going to get his soul back.

It was an hour before Castiel could bring himself to tell the Winchesters the truth about Sasha. And when he did, well, it didn't exactly go down too well.


	4. Put The Blame On Me

"So let me get this straight, Sasha and Balthazar were best buds down in the pit? "

"More than that actually, they were ah...lovers."

An awkward silence fell. "Then what happened? Why do they hate each other now?" asked Sam

"Well, do you want the simple version or the complicated version?"

"We'll keep it simple for now, thanks Cas."

"Okay then. It's because of you." He looked to Dean.

"Me? What the hell did I do?"

"It's complicated. How do I make it easy for you to understand? Have you ever read that book...Twihard, Twimoon-?"

"Twilight?" cut in Sam.

"Yes, Twilight, that's it! Well do you remember what an imprint is?"

"Umm it's like love, right, only a lot stronger."

Dean turned to his brother, "Dude, how are you _not _gay?"

Sam ignored him and looked to Cas.

Cas rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Right, well, the bond that was described in the book is a real thing, for certain people that is. It's usually between vampires actually. But it's not uncommon between demons and...humans."

Both Castiel and Sam stared at Dean.

Dean got up off of the chair he had been sitting on. "You have _got _to be kidding me! You're saying I'm bonded to a friggin' demon?"

"I'm afraid so. Dean, the bond you have with her, it's stronger than anything I've ever seen before."

"Oh yeah? Then how come I didn't know until now."

"Because she didn't let you find out. You have no idea what she went through to keep this from you, to keep you safe." The defensive tone in his voice was clear.

"Oh and another thing, how come you're best friends with demons all of a sudden, huh?"

Dean glared at Cas and Cas glared back. "She saved my life. I owe her a lot."

"It's Ruby all over again!" Dean threw his hands up in the air.

Castiel sighed, "I know you're angry but you can't change your fate, Dean, surely you know that by now." He gestured to the chair, "At least let me finish, then you can make your mind up."

Dean held his hands up in surrender, "Fine."

"The reason you didn't know about her until now is because she kept her distance. She only came near you when you were in danger."

"Like when?"

"Like those vampires in Dallas you were chasing a few months back? You were trapped in that house, completely surrounded." answered Castiel

"Yeah, then you came and ganked all of 'em..."

Castiel shook his head, "Dean, that wasn't me. Sasha called me there after she killed them and then left. I didn't even know you were in Dallas."

The look on Dean's face was strangely upsetting to Cas. He felt like he had let Dean down. But he needed to know.

"So, what? She's been following me around this whole time?"

"Ever since you were born. The bond you have, well, it's different than usual."

"What do you mean?" asked Dean. By now he had emptied an entire bottle of Jack Daniels and was reaching for another.

"Well, she can feel your emotions, as with most bonds and can communicate with you telepathically. But the strange thing is -"

"'Cause that's what's strange about this whole show."

Castiel gave him a look which could only mean one thing, '_Shut Up and let me finish.' _So Dean shut up.

"As I was saying, the strange thing about this bond is that, when you bleed, so does she. Every time you get in a fight, every time you get hurt, she feels it. When Lucifer *cough* kicked your ass in that field, (an annoyed glance from Dean and another swig of Daniels) your face was a wreck and Michael told me that hers was the exact same but your injuries weren't bad as they could have been and that was because of her. Sasha takes half the hit."

"Wait, Michael? Let me guess, he's not an angel either?"

"No, he's a human."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Of course he is."

"Basically, you're bond is what set Balthazar off. He was jealous that she was forced to love you more than him. You have no idea how many times he tried to kill you..."

"So why was she kicked out of hell?" asked Sam.

"Again, because of Dean. When Dean was sent to hell, Balthazar got her 'exiled' just incase she tried to break you out. She was actually the one who asked the angels to go down and get you, in exchange for eternal servitude that is."

"Well I'm feeling just peachy right about now, another drink anyone?" It wasn't a question so they didn't answer as Dean poured out yet another glass.

"That was the bond you promised her, wasn't it? The one you'd break." said Sam.

Cas nodded. And a little glimmer of hope emerged in Dean's eyes. "Could you really do that?"

"Let's hope so."

A muffled scream pierced the air as the blade slashed across her stomach.

"You brought this on yourself Sasha. I loved you! And you left me, for that HUNTER!"

He shouted and roared and cursed at her for hours, days. This was _her _fault. She wasn't strong enough to resist the bond, she was weak. She deserved this for what she put him through.

Metal clattered in the background, off to her left somewhere. She couldn't see exactly where. Then she heard the dripping of water, holy water. He was coating the knife in the stuff, and then adding salt.

Sasha thrashed against the restraints. She was tied down with straps on her wrists and ankles; they too had been coated with a paste of salt and water. The pain was excruciating. She almost passed out from the pain, she would have welcomed a black out but she knew Balthazar would let her miss this. He'd stuck a needle in her arm, filled with enough adrenaline to kill a horse.

"Balthazar, please. You don't have to do this."

Tears glistened as he looked at her. That beautiful face of hers was now smeared with blood; she had cuts and scratches covering her entire body. He laughed to himself as he set the knife down on the steel counter.

"We used to be friends didn't we? Well, I guess we were a bit more than that, weren't we? D'you remember Paris?"

Sasha nodded, a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Best night of my life." remembered Balthazar.

She smiled at him, "Mine too."

"Balthazar, I never asked for any of this, you know that. I didn't want _any _of this. I just wanted you."

Balthazar shook his head, "You did want this, Sasha. You wanted to be human." He was disgusted at the very word. "You wanted to get away from all of this, away from me. You wanted someone who was always going to be there for you. But you didn't even get that, did you?"

He leaned in close, his lips almost touching her ear, "He doesn't love you and he never will. You disgust him Sasha. He thinks you're a monster. And what do men like him do with monsters, huh?"

She hadn't even noticed that he's picked up the knife again. He drove the blade into her side as she screamed in agony.

"I will never forgive you for what you did to me."

"And I will never forgive _you_ for what you did to him."

He stopped and gave her a questioning glance. "You didn't think I'd make the connection? I knew it was you who had me thrown out. I was branded a traitor because of you. I can't set foot in my home because of you. I'll never see my brother, or my father ever again. And I know about all those attacks you had on Dean as well. We've both done things to hurt one another Balthazar and I don't think either of us will forgive each other for what we did. We'll both just have to live with it."

Sasha's eyes turned black as she tried to block out the pain. His anger erupted after her little speech. He used every blade, every instrument in that room for what felt like years but Sasha did everything she could to keep herself from screaming. That didn't help his mood either. She prayed then, she prayed to God that Dean couldn't feel anything. She usually had to concentrate to control their bond, down here it wasn't exactly easy.

It had been four days since Balthazar had appeared in the front yard and four days since Dean had been completely sober. He was sitting in front of the t.v watching some show about a bunch of nerds living together, Big Bang Theory it was called, it was actually pretty good. Dean was just about to turn the television off when a scream pierced through his head like nails on a chalkboard. He fell to the ground and clamped his hands to his ears. Sam heard Dean cry out and came rushing into the living room.

"Dean, you okay? What's wrong?"

And just like that, the noise vanished. It had disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

Dean brought his hands down to his sides and shakily brought himself up off the floor. He looked at his brother, who had worry in his eyes.

"Nothing. Nothing, I'm fine."

As much as he hated to admit it, Cas might have been right about that whole bond thing. He just heard his demon scream.


	5. A Week Has Come And Gone

"Where the hell is she, Cas? It's been a week already, she should be here already." Dean was pacing the kitchen floor anxiously.  
"Why do you care what happens to her all of a sudden?" asked Sam  
"I don't care, I just want you to get your soul back ASAP."  
Sam's expression was that of doubt, although his brother couldn't see. Sam was sitting at the kitchen table, researching possible new case. He needed something to take his mind of what was happening here.  
Castiel, on the other hand, was standing on the porch outside, waiting for Sarah. He hadn't slept the whole week, not that he needed to but still, it was a little unnerving to find him staring at you when you wake up suddenly in the middle of the night.

"Cas, you see anything yet?" asked Sam.  
"No, nothing yet." he sighed and came back inside, locking the door behind him. "I just hope Balthazar keeps his word once she's back."  
"What do you mean?" asked Dean.  
"Well, Balthazar isn't exactly trustworthy, especially where Sasha's concerned. Besides, we never made him swear to keep his promise, he could still go back on his word."  
"Like hell he will! We'll just torture him 'til he gives us what we want." argued Dean.  
"Torture? That's what this has come down to now?" asked Cas, disappointed.  
"Well what would you have us do?"  
"Well...we could get Sasha to talk to her father..." he avoided their eyes again.  
"Her father? What, you mean Lucifer? What makes you think he'll help? He wants us dead, remember?"  
"Lucifer is not just Sasha's god, but he is in fact her father. His first born and direct descendant."  
"Cas, please tell me you're joking, please." Dean pleaded as he placed his head in his hands.  
"I'm sorry if this alters your opinion of her, again, but it's the truth. And Lucifer is rather fond of her. I'm sure he'd help her if the time came."

Just then a soft came at the door and Dean got up to answer it.  
Sasha stood there, looking just as she had when she had left, if a little weaker than usual. Dean could see a new scar on the side of her neck which Balthazar had obviously failed to remove. Her clothes were dusty and her t-shirt was frayed at the bottom. Her smile was feeble, "Hey Dean."  
"Hey." Was just about all he could manage at the moment as a wave of surprising relief washed over him.  
"Mind helping me in? My feet are a bit tired from walking all the way back from hell."  
"Yeah, sure." He took her arm and placed it over his head so she could lean on him slightly. With Dean's help, Sasha hobbled into the house and sat down on the living room couch. She heaved a huge sigh as she sank into the comfort of being home.

"So? Is he still keeping his side of the bargain?" asked Cas  
Sasha nodded, "So far as I'm aware. He said he'd come by tomorrow and 'explain things'."  
"Explain things? What the hell does that mean?"  
Sasha winced as she readjusted herself on the seat, apparently Balthazar hadn't removed all of her injuries. "How should I know?" she demanded  
"Oh I don't know, maybe because you guys were so buddy-buddy down in the pit." answered Dean.  
Sasha rolled her eyes at Cas. "I see you told him then."  
Castiel shrugged, "I saw no point in keeping it form him any longer."  
Sasha reluctantly agreed with a nod.  
"So what now?" asked Sam.  
"Now? I am going to go upstairs, have a shower and try to get some rest before that moron shows up tomorrow." She gingerly got up from the couch and mockingly attempted to bow to the three of them. "Goodnight gentlemen."  
Then she tried her best to walk up the stairs with whatever amount of dignity she had left.

Castiel, Sam and Dean were left in silence for several moments before Sam said, "I think I'm gonna try and get some sleep too. Night guys." Then he left to go down to the basement where two mattresses had been laid out for him and his brother. A few minutes later, Dean did the same. Castiel however, went back out into the garden and spend the night gazing at the stars. Praying that Sam would finally get his soul back and that they would finally be able to rest for just a little while. But I think deep down he knew that that was never going to happen. Balthazar could not be trusted and he would never pass up an opportunity to mess with Sasha. He wasn't going to let her go so easy. Even if Balthazar saw fit to give Sam his soul back, there was going to be some sort of catch. He would want something else in return for what he saw as a service. Heaven knows he wasn't going to do this for free.

The next morning seemed darker than usual. The sky was dull grey in colour and it hadn't stopped raining since 3:00am. The Winchesters woke around 9 o'clock and Sam made eggs and bacon for everyone. They tried to stay in a good mood, after all, Sam was getting his soul back today. Sasha came downstairs approximately half an hour later, looking a little worse for wear.  
"Morning." She announced as she reached the bottom of the stairs.  
"Man, you look like hell." Dean pointed out.  
Sasha smiled sarcastically at him, "Nice to see you too Dean."  
He smiled and took a plate from the cupboard before piling it with food.  
"I see you've made yourselves comfortable."  
"Well, you have been gone for a week."  
"I guess."  
Sasha helped herself to some eggs and bacon, along with a glass of orange juice.  
"So, how you holding up?" asked Dean.  
"Me? I'm fine, it'll take a lot more than a few splashes of water and salt to break me." She smiled comfortingly at him.

At exactly 11 o 'clock, the doorbell chimed. Sasha got up from her chair and went to open the door. Dean reached for his shotgun and Sam placed his hand on his father's journal, just incase.  
She opened the door to see Balthazar standing on the porch, a cigarette in his hand and a smile on his face. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"  
Sasha glared at him before gesturing for him to come inside. He nodded to the Winchesters but merely glanced at Castiel.  
"So?" she asked.  
"Not so fast, girl." He sauntered into the living room and sat down on the chair Sasha had been previously sitting on. He placed his left leg over his right and reclined back into the couch.  
He turned to stare at each of them in turn before putting out his cigarette with the coffee table and blowing the last puff of smoke into the air.  
Balthazar looked to Sasha with a tilted head and a smirk on his face. She knew immediately, just by that look, that she was not about to get Sam his soul back and the breaking of her bond was to be put on hold once again.

"I have a proposition for you."


	6. One Last Job

Sasha let out a cold laugh, "A proposition? What happened to giving Sam his soul back?"  
"Oh, I _will_ give little Sammy his soul back, just as soon as you do this one last job for me."  
Sasha looked to Castiel who gave her a small nod of agreement.  
"What kind of job?"  
Balthazar shrugged, "Like the ones we used to do back in the day. I give you a name and place, you get it done and we'll clean up the mess afterwards."

"Wow, wait a minute, you're talking about a hit?" asked Dean, eyebrows raised, "You want her to kill some poor sucker in cold blood."  
"Oh please, don't let your conscience spoil things now, you hunters are no different." He got up from the couch and walked over to Dean. "You kill what you believe are monsters, when some wouldn't even hurt a fly. You kill for so-called family honour Dean Winchester. But what if someone were to take little Sammy away from you, hmm?" He came within inches of Dean, his face contorted in hatred, "You'd be no better than the rest of us."  
Dean avoided his eyes and looked to Sasha. Her face was wiped clean of emotion, no inkling of any feeling whatsoever...Sasha was ready to rip Balthazar to pieces if he made any threatening move on the Winchesters.  
She was in soldier mode, so Dean told himself he had to be too. "Drop dead, you son of a bitch." he growled.

Balthazar smirked and shook his head, "Now, now, play nice. We wouldn't want anything to happen to Sam if you forgot your manners now, would we?"  
He turned to Sasha, "So, what do you say to one last trip down memory lane?"  
"Swear to me now, swear to me that when this is done, you'll give Sam his soul back."  
Balthazar smiled, "I swear it." He then made a cross across his heart with his right index finger, "Cross my heart."  
"Alright then. What's the name?"  
"Michael Blake."

Silence followed as what Balthazar said sunk in. "You want to me to kill Michael? Why?"  
"He's a human who is close to both angels and demons. We simply can't let him live, he knows too much."  
"You really are a cold bastard Balthazar. He saved your life once."  
"And I saved yours several times, look where that got me!" he snarled. "Are you going to do it or not?"  
Sasha swallowed and her shoulders sagged in defeat, "When and where?"  
A Chesire Cat like grin spread across his face, "Two o'clock, Boston, Marshall's Café. You'll have half an hour to make the shot and get out of there. So, ah, don't miss."  
"You better stay true to your word Balthazar, or so help me I will hunt you down and rip out whatever heart you have left, do we understand each other?"  
"Perfectly."

And then he was gone, just like that. Leaving the remaining wisps of black smoke in his wake. Sam slowly sank into the chair in the kitchen as Dean removed a bottle from the cabinet. "You're really going to go through with this?" asked Dean. Sasha thought it strange that there was concern in his voice, it was a little unsettling. He wasn't supposed to care about her.  
"I have to."  
"But he's your friend, doesn't that bother you?"  
"Keeping both of you alive is my priority. If Michael's death is what it takes to ensure Sam's soul, then that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Besides, he'll make heaven for sure. You've seen it, tell me he's not better off."  
Dean sighed, she had a point. He was about to pour out a glass for himself when Sasha spoke, "D'you mind drinking a different scotch? It's just, that's my favourite bottle and I think I'm probably going to need it later on. There's some more in the drawer next to you."  
"Uh, sure..."  
Castiel stepped towards her, a concerned expression on his face, "Are you sure you can do this? It is a little close to home, don't you think?"  
"That's exactly why he chose Michael. But I can do it, I have done a lot worse to a lot more people, Cas...as I'm sure you remember."  
Castiel nodded sorrowfully, he knew all too well the damage Sasha could cause. Sasha and Balthazar together on the battlefield was like letting loose a twister and an earthquake on the same plot of land. The only thing left is destruction and a whole lot of bodies.

"So how will you get to Boston?" asked Sam.  
"I'll take the train, it's only an hour away." She glanced at her watch, "Well it's twelve o'clock now, I should probably get going." Sasha left the living room and went down to the basement. She grabbed her duffel bag and put her rifle in along with several bullets, binoculars, a pistol and a stand to rest the rifle on. By 12:03 she was ready to go.  
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later." Sasha really was awful at goodbyes, even when she knew she'd see them again. Sam nodded a goodbye, as did Dean. "Cas, could I see you for a minute?"  
She stood out on the porch with Cas and closed the door behind them. "Cas, I-I want you to look out for him, okay? Both of them. I want to thank you for all you've done, it means a lot."  
Castiel nodded, "Don't thank me yet, we still have to get Sam's soul back, and break the bond between you and Dean."

"Oh yeah, right." She laughed slightly, she'd forgotten about that.  
"You do still want it broken, don't you?" asked Cas  
"What? Yeah, yeah of course I do. Well, I'll call you when the job's done."  
With that said, she left the house and walked to Lunafalls Station, bought a ticket to Boston and prepared herself to murder an old friend.

When she arrived in Boston, it took her less than twenty minutes to find Marshall's Café. Fortunately (or not) there was a twelve storey apartment building just across the street. They always had great spots for assassinations, especially the rooftop; plenty of space, good cover, a clear shot and a quick exit.  
When she reached the roof, she removed the rifle and stand from her bag and set it up. Sasha checked her watch: 1:45pm. Not long now.  
She took out her binoculars and checked the café, Michael was always early to appointments, no matter what they were for. By 1:50pm he had bought a black coffee and was reading the newspaper on a bench outside.  
Completely oblivious as to what was about to happen. Sasha sighed and removed her cell phone from her jacket pocket.  
She dialled the number and waited for an answer.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey Michael."  
"Sasha, is that you? What's wrong?" he could sense by the tone in her voice that something was bothering her.  
"Michael, I want you to listen to me. Remember when you told me to do whatever it takes to help Dean? To get Sam his soul back? I want you to know that I never wanted to do this, you're a dear friend to me and you've helped me so much over the years..."  
"Sasha...what are you talking about?" he paused and she saw a look of realisation on his face, "You're not calling me just to say hi are you?"  
"No, I'm not. I made a deal with Balthazar a-and I have to keep it. I'm so sorry, I know you didn't ask for any of this. I should never have told you about us."  
"So is this my note then?" Sasha said nothing as she stared down the rifle with the phone to her ear. "Well, I'll take your silence as a yes. Just, just do one thing for me, okay?"  
A tear rolled down Sasha cheek as she struggled to control her emotions, "Anything."  
"D-don't blame yourself for this, any of it. It wasn't your fault. You are, and always have been, a good friend."  
"I'm sorry Michael." These were the last words Michael heard as Sasha placed her finger on the trigger, and pulled.

A shot echoed through the street as citizens screamed and ran for cover. A black van quickly pulled up and dragged his body into the van before driving off.  
Police sirens wailed in the distance as Sasha packed her duffel bag, and left Boston.  
Whilst she was on the train, her phone rang. She answered it to find Balthazar on the other end of the line, "That little speech of yours was touching, I must say. Well done. I'll be waiting for you when you get back."  
Before she could reply, the line went dead. "Moron." she muttered.  
When she arrived back home, Balthazar was waiting on her front porch, that ignorant grin on his face.

"So, shall we give little Sammy his soul back?"


	7. Return of the Soul

"Just give me 5 minutes, okay? Let me at least give them a heads up."  
"I'll give you two."  
Sasha nodded reluctantly and walked past him and into the house.  
Dean looked up at the figure standing in the hallway and felt a sigh of relief. She was alive.  
This was probably the first time he'd ever been glad that a demon wasn't dead and that kind of crap could really mess with a hunter's head.  
"You're back." He mentally hit himself over the head for stating the obvious.

Sasha smiled, "With good news." She turned to Sam, "Looks like you'll be getting your soul back after all."  
It was impossible for Sam to hide his happiness; he had the same look a little kid gets on Christmas morning. He got up and walked over to face Sasha. He made a gesture which made it seem as though he were about to shake her hand, so Sasha extended her own...he ended up giving her a hug instead.  
"Thank you."  
"Don't mention it." was all she could think to say. She'd never really been in a situation where someone was happy with the effects of her actions. She definitely wasn't used to it.

"So, where's the lucky boy?" a voice echoed from the doorway, that frustratingly alluring English accent she knew so ashamedly well had imprinted on her memory since the day she first heard it.  
Sam's hug stopped abruptly as he turned to Balthazar. Dean took a step forward as though to stop his brother but something in his head held him back. For a moment, he could have sworn he heard Sasha's voice telling him to _wait_ but then he thought better of it. He really didn't want to open _that _door just yet.  
"You got a table or a bed, perhaps?" asked Balthazar and Dean raised his eyebrows, "Excuse me?"  
Balthazar rolled his eyes, "Relax Winchester, I'm not after your brother, I just don't want him falling over and knocking himself out while we do this."  
"Oh, right."  
"He can just take the couch." said Sasha.

As Sam lay down on the couch, Balthazar took a small box from his pocket. It was black in colour with ancient markings carved in to the sides. He opened up the box to reveal a small ball of white light.  
"Now, before we put the beast back in the cage, it's my duty to inform you that this will probably either drive you completely insane, kill you, or if you're really unfortunate, will return you to your old self."  
"Yeah, I get it."  
Balthazar removed the light from the box and looked at Sasha, "You sure he can do this? I mean, I don't care whether he lives or dies but I don't normally kill unless I have to."  
"He can do it."  
Sam was surprised at her complete faith in him, in fact, everyone was, even Cas.

"Right, well, open wide, and try not to scream 'cause this is gonna hurt like hell...no pun intended."

Dean left the room after that, the expression of excruciating pain on Sam's face was a little too much to bear. Sasha stayed, along with Castiel, who was rather reluctant to stay in the presence of Balthazar for a prolonged period of time but he stayed all the same.  
A few minutes later, Sam stopped fidgeting and Balthazar stood up. "Well, that should do it."  
Sasha swallowed, "Thank you."  
"I didn't do this for you, just so you know. I have orders." he stated.  
"Orders from who?"  
"It is no concern of yours." growled Balthazar, "You got Sam his soul back, that's what matters to you, right?"  
Sasha sighed, "So what now?"  
"Now? Now, I'll take my leave and, if we're lucky, you'll never lay eyes on me again."  
"What about the Winchesters?"  
"Oh, don't worry, I'll stay away. You're precious hunters won't be harmed...until further notice at least."  
"Good."  
Balthazar smirked, "Be seeing you then."

Sasha really hated it when he disappeared like that. Sam was just beginning to regain consciousness so she called Dean into the living room.  
Dean ran to his brother, "Hey Sammy, how you feeling?"  
Sam sat up and swung his legs around so his feet touched the floor. "Uh, fine...I think."

_Highway to Hell_ erupted from the room as Sasha's cell phone rang. She picked it up and glanced at the caller ID: Work.  
"Hello?"  
A muffled voice could be heard from the other end and Sasha sighed. "Why can't you get Chris to do it?"  
The voice replied, increasing in volume as it did so. "Alright, alright keep your damn hair on. I'll be there in five."  
Sasha rolled her eyes as she hung up the phone and pulled her jacket on. "Sorry guys, I gotta go to work. You reckon you could survive one night without me?" she joked.  
Sam smiled and Dean laughed. Castiel stood up, "I'm afraid I have to leave too, I have a few errands to run. Will you two be okay here?"  
Dean looked at them, "Guys, we're not twelve years old, I think we'll be fine."  
It was Sasha's turn to laugh, "Okay, if you're sure. Sam, you need to get some rest. Dean, don't even think about drinking any more of my scotch, you've emptied half the cupboard."  
"I think we can manage that."  
Sam was already making his way downstairs and Sasha was at the door when Dean grabbed her arm, "Hey, listen, I just wanted to say thanks for helping Sam out. It really means a lot, I mean, you didn't have to do what you did."  
"It's no problem, really. Besides, you guys deserve it after all you've been through."  
"Y'know, Cas told us about those vamps in Dallas. You've really been watching out for us all this time?"  
"For you, always."

And with that, she left.  
Dean stood on the porch for a while, listening to the birds and watching the trees move in the wind. He'd never really appreciated the subtle things in life before.  
He used to think that constantly travelling meant that he would see the world, but it didn't. In fact, the more he thought about, the more he realised he'd never actually seen the places he and Sam had visited. At least, not the way he did now.  
But night was fading fast, and nothing was ever beautiful after dark.

Sasha pulled up at Ravenhill and put on her uniform. She walked in and found Chris already working behind the bar. The place was packed. It was almost impossible to move.  
"What the hell is going on? Why is it so busy?" she shouted to him over the roar of the crowd.  
"Mr Matthews thought it would be a good idea to give out free drinks on Saturdays, the idiot. We're here til 4am I'm afraid."  
"Well that's just great." She took the order of one of the men at the bar and was about to fill up a martini glass when a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. She dropped the glass and it smashed into pieces on the floor. It felt like someone had driven a knife through her left shoulder. She left out a painful gasp as a floor of images ran through her head._ Someone kicked open the front door, chairs were toppled over as two mean rushed down to the basement. Two more men went upstairs. A second later the two men came down with an unconscious Dean, a bloody whole torn through his left shoulder. Sam was dragged outside as well and they were both thrown into the back of a black van._

Sasha didn't even tell Chris she was leaving, she grabbed her keys and ran for the door. She got into the car and sped down the highway, "They didn't even last an hour." She muttered as she headed for home.  
She knew they wouldn't be there but she needed to call Cas.  
When she got there, the house was in flames. Half of it had already burnt down and it would have been pointless to make any attempts to save it. Now she was pissed.  
"Castiel if you don't get your butt down here right now, I swear, you'll spend the rest of eternity regretting it!" she screamed at the sky as thunder rang out and rain started to pour from the sky.  
Apparently the asshole was too busy to listen so she made a mental note to kick his ass later.  
She tried to relax her mind and focus on trying to find Dean. She pictured seeing his face and seeing through his eyes.  
It worked, and now she knew exactly where he was.

She got into the car and sped down the road. She only prayed she'd get there in time.


	8. Stairway to Heaven

Half an hour later she pulled up outside the old warehouse. It used to be a mill back in the 90's but it closed down a few years later.  
She saw Balthazar's Harley pulled up out back, along with the black van she saw in Boston, and her vision.  
Sasha concentrated again on Dean, there were over twenty different rooms in there, she had to be sure where he was.  
Within two seconds she knew exactly where Balthazar was keeping Dean. _Oh great_, she thought, _the basement._

Sasha stood at the top of the stairs; she hesitated before removing the blade from her boot and slowly walking down the stairs.  
A voice called from the darkness, "You certainly took your time."  
Sasha smirked, "Well, if you had opened up your mind a little bit more, I would have got here a lot faster."  
Dean was tied to a post with chains wrapped around his arms and legs, his shoulder was bleeding, badly. Sam was chained to a chair beside him. Sam was the only one with cuts and bruises. Apart from the one injury to his shoulder, Dean looked completely unharmed. She walked towards him and began untying the chains around his waist.  
"Let's get you guys out of here." said Sasha.  
Then a body emerged from the shadows beside her, "You know it won't be that easy, Sasha."  
She stopped what she was doing and sighed, "I don't want to fight you Balthazar." She turned to look at him, the expression on his face was menacing. "Well that's unfortunate. I was really looking forward to killing you."  
He brought his hand into the light, brandishing a blade just like her own. She sighed and took a few steps back, creating as much distance between Balthazar and the Winchesters as possible.  
She ran her finger along the blade in her hand and raised it to eye level.

Balthazar grinned and walked slowly towards her. "You wanna know why I chose to bring you here?"  
Sasha rolled her eyes, "D'you think you could save the speech? I really want to get this over with."  
"Look around you." he tilted his head to the left and stared at her.  
Sasha did so and saw chains, saws, wire-cutters, knives and a whole range of heavy machinery.  
"You'll be alive for days before I'm through with you." he whispered to her.  
She shut her eyes and tried to block the very thought from her head. That was when he struck. Fortunately her reflexes were quick and she raised her knife in time to block it.  
The sheer force of his swing reverberated throughout her entire body. Now she kicked her leg out and hit him right in the knee. He groaned and fell to the floor.

Suddenly a bright light erupted from the ceiling, almost blinding them. Castiel stood in the centre of the room and glanced around him before catching Sasha's eye. She didn't say a word, she didn't need to. Instead, Castiel ran to the Winchesters and proceeded to untangle Sam and Dean from their restraints.  
Balthazar's eyes shone with fury. "You dare call him here? This is of no concern to angels!"  
A shadow fell upon his face as his outrage turned to silence. Then a manic laugh bellowed from his lips. It soon subsided and Balthazar glared at Sasha, "Fine, you wish to make this difficult? Have it your way."  
Balthazar stood up and removed his jacket. It dropped to the floor and dust erupted around him. His eyes turned black and he looked to the ceiling. Smoke poured from his mouth as his vessel sank to the floor.  
"Dammit." Was all Sasha could think to say. The black smoke began to twist and turn, adapting itself to its surroundings. A hissing sound came from the smoke as it morphed into a giant serpent.

Sasha's vessel was lying contorted on the floor as she morphed into a wolf.  
Silence fell as Castiel and the two boys looked on in terror.  
"Cas, what the hell am I looking at here?" asked Sam. "And why am I getting Harry Potter flashbacks?"  
"Ah well, in a sense, Harry Potter does bear some similarities. These creatures are their...patronous? They are the projection of the soul. Sasha being a wolf, loyal and ferocious when challenged. Balthazar on the other hand...well you get the idea."  
"And we're stuck in the middle of a death match?" asked Dean.  
"It appears that way, yes."  
"Wonderful."

The serpent was hissing and spitting at the wolf as she bared her teeth and snarled. She snapped her jaws and scratched at the ground.  
The serpent struck the wolf and sank his fangs into her neck. The wolf yelped but twisted her head around and bit the snake.  
The two animals fought for over an hour, the whole warehouse was almost in ruins. Dean pleaded with Castiel to help Sasha, but there was very little he could do, besides, this was Sasha's fight, not his.  
Half an hour later the smoke seemed to dissipate and the two forms returned to their vessels.  
The injuries they had sustained appeared on their bodies, and both were in a weakened state and barely breathing.  
Sasha was lying unconscious when Dean, Sam and Castiel pulled themselves from the rubble.  
Dean ran to Sasha and checked her pulse, she was alive. Rage overtook him as he saw Balthazar standing in the corner with a smile on his face. "The hunter and the demon. How quaint. This ought to make a Disney movie for sure."  
Dean grabbed a crow bar from the table beside him and charged at Balthazar. Balthazar side stepped easily and kicked Dean into the wall ahead. He fell to the floor as blood trickled down his face.  
"You know, I'll never understand why she imprinted with you. A hunter. Of all the creatures on this planet, she falls for a hunter. I guess you can't choose who you love huh?"

Sasha opened her eyes to see Dean lying on the ground, covered in blood. He was looking right at her, and for a moment, something happened. It was like a puzzle piece had finally snapped into place.  
He smiled at her and she smiled back, despite how much pain she was in. That's when she saw it; Balthazar raising his hands above his head, preparing to bring a knife down on Dean Winchester.  
From then on, everything was in slow motion. It was like she could see herself running towards him. The knife was inching its way towards Dean's heart and her eyes widened in fear. She couldn't lose him, regardless of what she told Castiel, she need him.  
She was almost there now and just as she reached Dean, their eyes met and time sped up. The knife struck her back and went straight through her heart. Dean could see the blade pierce through her chest.  
Blood poured down her shirt as she fell into Dean. Balthazar let go of the blade like it burnt him and fell backwards in shock at what he had done.  
Dean held Sasha as he lowered her body to the floor. It was kind of poetic really, after all that, it took her dying for him to show he cared.  
She could already feel herself slipping away, she choked a little as she tried to get the words out. She pulled Dean closer so her lips were on his ear, "I'm s-sorry Dean, you deserved much b-better than me, both of you did."  
"What are you talking about? We couldn't have asked for better." he smiled at her.  
"How strange..."she muttered.  
"What is?" asked Dean, his voice was breaking now.  
"I-I can see the clouds." she whispered. Castiel and Sam were beside her as well now. Castiel placed his hand in hers, "You have done well, Sasha. You're going to be okay, I'll make sure of it."  
"Thank you." She sighed and slowly closed her eyes as a single tear rolled down Dean's cheek.  
Nothing was said for a while, as Dean sobbed quietly over her dead body. Then Castiel stood up and looked to the ceiling, he closed his eyes and a beam of light rained down and spread over Sasha's body.  
It lingered there for a while as they all watched the light dance on her skin. Within a minute or two, the light was gone, and so was she.  
Dean looked around in amazement, "W-where did she go?"  
"Heaven." was all Cas said.  
"Is she ever coming back?"  
Castiel sighed, "I'm not sure."

Suddenly Dean remembered something. "Balthazar." he swore through gritted teeth and wildly searched the room.  
He found him sitting in the corner of the room, holding his head in his hands.  
Dean was about to swing a punch when Castiel grabbed his arm, "No, he'll pay for what he's done soon enough."  
"What the hell does that mean?" shouted Dean.  
"Just wait and you'll see, trust me."

Sam grabbed a chair and sat down, Castiel was content with sitting on the floor and Dean paced what was left of the basement.  
They stayed there for a while, listening to Balthazar's muffled moans in the corner.  
Then they heard footsteps coming down the steps and all heads swivelled in the direction of the door.  
Two men came down, wearing black suits and ties. Their faces were blank of expression but their fists were clenched in anger.  
Whoever they were, they weren't happy.  
As they reached the bottom step, Castiel stood up and dusted off his coat. He gave a slight nod to the two men, "Peter, James."  
"Castiel." they said in unison.  
"He's over there." Cas pointed to the left corner of the room were Balthazar was rocking back and forth.  
They didn't reply but walked over to the man in the corner and grabbed him back the scruff of the neck. The dragged him to his feet and hauled him back upstairs, Balthazar screamed in protest.  
"Where are they taking him?" asked Sam.  
"Purgatory, I think. Jury's still out on his eternal punishment but they'll take him somewhere private for a few days first. Teach him a lesson or two."  
"So what now?" asked Dean, his voice was barely audible.  
"Now, you two can go home. Try to get some rest."  
"Rest?" he chuckled sarcastically, "That's likely."


	9. Extra Amnesia On The Side, Please

Sasha woke to the pitter-patter sound of rain bouncing off a windowpane. The fierce pain in her temple told her she'd had a rough night, although she couldn't exactly remember what that had entailed.  
She only remembered flashes of what looked like a warehouse and the face of a man she hadn't seen in a while; Balthazar.  
She rose from the table she had been leaning on and sat back in the leather seat as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  
She appeared to be in a diner so when the waiter in the rollerblades rolled towards her, she asked him where she was.  
"Rough night, huh? You're in Joe's Diner, Lunafalls." He gave her a complimentary black coffee and then left to take care of the other two customers who had come in to have their own sobering cups of coffee at four o'clock in the morning.  
Sasha silently cursed the angels, for she knew that only they could have placed her here and wiped the memory of what had happened to her – no doubt for their own gain.  
She was certain of one thing however; that Balthazar was somehow responsible for what had happened to her and now her only hope of finding out what had happened to her was to track him down.

So she thanked the waiter and grabbed the bag beside her –which she assumed was her own- and headed for the stretch of road in front of the diner.  
The night air was cool and according to the sign by the door it was January 3rd 2013.  
Another flashback of a cell phone screen brought her to one conclusion, "I've been gone for two years."  
At this point in time, Sasha was beyond pissed. She stormed across the road into the empty field in front of her. She hopped the fence and found a place on the far end that was not visible from the diner.

"Castiel!" she shouted, "Get your scrawny, trench coat-wearing ass down here right now!"  
Nothing happened for a minute or two until Sasha heard the distinct noise of footsteps behind her.  
She whirled her head around to see Castiel standing there with a bewildered look on his face, "You're back."  
"Yeah, now you mind telling me why the hell I needed to come back at all? Why do I have the distinct memory of Balthazar and you in some warehouse that I haven't even seen in years?"  
Castiel tilted his head like a puppy dog, "You don't remember what happened?"  
Sasha rolled her eyes, "Duh, I wouldn't have you called you down here if I did!"  
"Was there anyone else in the warehouse?" he asked.  
"What?" she replied.  
"Other than Balthazar and I, do you remember anyone else being in the room with you?"  
She thought for a few seconds before answering, "No. There was no one else there..." she spotted the look on his face, "Why?"  
"It's nothing."  
Sasha shrugged, "Well if you're not going to help me with that, can you please tell me where I'll find Balthazar?"  
Another look crossed his face, a look of concern, "Balthazar escaped the angels no more than three hours ago, he's missing..."  
"And?" she pressed.  
"And what?"  
She stepped towards him as he averted his eyes, "There's something you're not telling me."  
Cas sighed, "The angels believe your father is responsible. They think he let Balthazar out because he knew you'd get out today as well."  
Sasha almost laughed, "Daddy wants a show."  
Castiel paused for a second before saying, "I have to go. Apparently I'm not allowed to talk to you until this is over. Good luck."  
With that, he was gone and Sasha was left on her own to deal with the mess both her father and the angels had created.

So she headed back to the diner in hopes of finding out how far she was from her house.  
As she sat back down at the table by the window, she waited for the waiter to come back round again.  
The bell on the diner door sounded as another customer walked in, only this customer was a little different than the regulars. He worse a sharp black suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie.  
Sasha braced herself as the man walked down through the diner to the booth at the end where she was sitting.  
He smiled, "Well well well, Sasha, glad to see you again." He sat down on the red leather seat opposite her without bothering to ask her permission.  
"Daryl." she replied, "Nice suit, swipe it of some poor soul on your way up here?"  
Daryl glared at her, "Alright, enough with the pleasantries. We've got a job for you and I believe it's one you'll find most interesting."  
"Oh yeah? Why can't you get someone else to do your dirty work for once, huh? I got my own damn problems right now."  
"Because you're the only one who can get the job done without screwing it up." he countered, "Now, d'you want to know who it is or not? I'd prefer not to waste my time so if you don't think you're up for it, we'll just take our business elsewhere."  
"I never said that," she growled, "Who's the target?"  
Daryl smirked and removed a brown envelope from his blazer pocket. "This will tell you all you need to know, including where we think he'll be."  
"Where you _think_ he'll be? You don't have a precise location? I could be travelling for days trying to find him." Sasha replied as she used her pocket knife to open the envelope.  
Inside contained several pieces of paper with dates, times and events. There was only one piece she was interest in however, and that was the photograph. She pulled it out and couldn't believe her luck. She knew that face.  
"We don't think he'll have gone far. After all, this location holds some...memories for him. For you too, if I'm not mistaken." A wicked grin appeared on his face as he rose from his seat.  
"You have one week. That should give you enough time to get your shit together and take him out _and _seeing as he doesn't know you're alive yet, you'll at least have an element of surprise. After that, you can do whatever the hell you want." He started to leave before turning around and flashing stunningly white teeth, "Oh, and daddy says hi."  
Sasha looked up from the picture long enough to give him a _I'll kill you later_ glare. Daryl simply laughed at walked out of that diner like he owned the place.  
"Stuck up piece of-"  
Sasha sighed at the image before her. The very man she had been ordered to kill, was just the man she'd been looking for; Balthazar.


	10. Honey, I Burned The House Down

"Back again are we?" said the man beside her. She hadn't even noticed that the waiter had glided all the way down to where she was sitting.  
She gave him a fake smile, "Couldn't resist." She tucked the picture back into the envelope and stuffed it in her bag.  
He blushed, "So, how can I help you?"  
"I was wondering if you knew how far the old Mc Carthy place was from here?" She needed to go home for a while (well, what was left of it), she needed a place to think.  
The boy thought for a moment, "Got to be at least four miles west of here. Unless you've got your own car you won't get down there."  
"Why's that?"  
"None of the cabbies like going down that road, everybody says the house is haunted. I wouldn't be going anywhere near the place if I were you." He said it with such a serious expression on his face that Sasha found it hard not to laugh.  
"Oh yeah? Well would I be able to get a cab to the main road then, at this time of the morning?" she asked him.  
He shook his head, "I'm not sure about that." Sasha could almost see the little light bulb in his head flickering, "Hey, I get off work in half an hour, what do you say I drive you there myself?"  
"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that-" she replied.  
"Don't worry about it, besides, I wouldn't feel right letting a pretty girl like you get into some random car at half four in the morning."  
Sasha smiled, "Alright then, thanks."  
"I'm Matthew by the way." He held out his hand and she shook it, "Sasha."  
He grinned and skated off, leaving Sasha giving herself a pat on the bag for her cleverness.  
"Free coffee and a free ride home, nice one." she muttered.

An hour later, Sasha was sitting in the passenger seat of Matthew's beat up pick-up truck with Blake Shelton blasting through the stereo as he drove her home.  
"So why do you want to go to Mc Carthy's place anyways, if you don't mind my asking?"  
"Oh, I'm meeting an old friend; he's picking me up there because we both know where it is." she lied.  
"Does he live around here?" inquired Matthew.  
Sasha smiled, "No, no he hasn't been here in a few years."  
Sasha tried not to answer anymore of his questions after that, instead they rode in silence until about an hour later when they arrived at the edge of the dirt road that led to the Mc Carthy house.  
Sasha unbuckled her seat belt and said her thanks.  
"Are you sure he knows where it is? I don't see anyone there." He asked, glancing out the window.  
"Yeah, he drove up the house so he's probably there already." She opened the door of the car and hopped out.  
Matthew leaned over, "Are you sure you don't want me to walk up with you?"  
Sasha silently swore in frustration then gave him a sweet smile, "No, it's fine, thank you for the lift. I'll see you around."  
Without giving him the chance to change his mind, Sasha began jogging up through the trees and hid out of sight until the vehicle drove on...making sure it was out of sight before she headed for the house.

The walk up through the woods was daunting. Sasha didn't want to see the pitiful remains of her old home. She remembered that Balthazar's buddies had burnt it to the ground; she remembered watching as the house caved in on itself. She recalled cursing Castiel before heading to the warehouse to find Balthazar. Now all she could do was hope that the flames hadn't reached the shelter as well.  
The shelter was a little basement-type room under the house. Sasha and Michael had built it about eight years ago in the summer in their spare time. In it she kept a few spare weapons, tins of food, and ancient books she didn't have room for in the house.

She arrived at the house at around half six in the morning and the sun was already peaking its way through the dense forest. A crow had been following her all the way up to the house and perched itself on the charred fencing by the front steps, cawing at her as she walked. She ignored it and walked around to the back of the house where the basement doors were. Sasha plucked the spare key from under the blackened floorboard of the back step and opened the lock on the doors. Dust sprung from the hinges as she hauled the rusted metal doors open.

She descended down the seven steps to the concrete floor and placed the bag that been previously slung over her shoulder onto the small single bed at the far end of the room.  
She checked the contents to see what the angels had decided to gift her with in order to complete her task: a blade, holy water, salt, a revolver and some scriptures for exorcism. _How nice _she thought sarcastically.  
Sasha sat down on the bed and glanced over the pages contained within the envelope given to her by Daryl. The picture Daryl had placed in the envelope had to be from at least a few decades before their "last meeting". He was clean-shaven and looked a lot like the man Sasha saw in her dreams from time to time; the man Balthazar was before the whole imprint scenario turned him into a sadistic killer (not that he hadn't been previously, it's just that he didn't make it fun anymore).  
The documents told her that she would most likely find Balthazar in the warehouse where he had killed her two years ago.  
So Sasha began preparing herself for the task ahead; she refilled her bag with what had already been given to her, along with some more weapons that she had thrown into the basement over the years and a pocket-sized torch. She took a few bottles of water from the mini-fridge and removed a cheap pay-as-you-go mobile on which to call a cab.

It took the taxi over half an hour to get to the abandoned warehouse and even then she didn't let him park outside the front door, instead she had the taxi driver take her to the edge of the woods – she didn't want Balthazar to know she was coming. Then she paid the driver, hopped out of the vehicle and headed up the road to the old building.


	11. First Meeting, Again

The first thing Sasha noticed was Balthazar's old Harley sitting by the door and she couldn't help but get a weird déjà vu feeling as she headed inside.  
The lights were out when she walked on so she pulled out her torch and slowly made her way down the corridor to the last door.  
It was already ajar so Sasha placed her hand lightly on the door and pushed it open.  
According to her memory it had been two years, to the very day, since she'd been here last and Sasha wasn't exactly intending on a repeat performance, so she pulled the handgun from her bag as she descended the staircase.  
A small ceiling light flicked in the centre of the room and Sasha felt almost compelled to shout _Hello? _as with every horror movie, but was able to restrain herself enough to merely take the first few steps into the basement.

She glanced to her left and then to her right, the coast was clear so she stared straight ahead as she reached the bottom step.  
A small figure was crouched down in the corner of the furthest side of the room.

"Balthazar?" she called to him – just to make sure she wasn't about to murder the wrong guy.  
A face emerged from the bundle, red-eyed and restless-looking.  
The emotion portrayed was that of complete horror and slight fear.  
Abigail felt quite good about that – he was the frightened one for once.  
"Sasha? I-Is that you? But you, you were-"  
"Dead, yeah I know." she finished. "Hell wasn't very forgiving either, I can tell you that much."  
Balthazar slowly pulled himself to his feet, he looked awful. His clothes were torn and tattered and he several gashes in his chest were visible.  
"It wasn't supposed to happen like that. You weren't supposed to-"  
"To what?" she dragged a chair from the corner and shoved it towards him.  
He sat down cautiously, "You weren't supposed to save him..."

Sasha paused, "What do you mean?"  
Balthazar stared at her for a moment, "You tried to-" He hesitated, seeing the look on her face, "You don't remember?"  
Sasha mentally cursed the angels for their deception.  
She pulled another chair over and sat in front of him. "Just what is it that I'm supposed to be remembering?"  
He eyed her quickly as she holstered her gun. She wanted answers first, she'd kill him later. The way he saw it; he only had one shot at this. She was hesitant now, letting her guard down. He had to act _now.  
_And he did.

Just as Sasha had placed her gun safely back in its holster, Balthazar ran.  
He bolted for the stairs before she even had a chance to blink.  
"Get back here!" she roared as Balthazar scrambled for the door.  
Sasha raced after him as he found the entrance. She couldn't hear the rain from inside but when she chased him outside, the thunderous roar of the wind sent chills down her spine. The rain pelted off of the earth, sending gravel spinning into the air.  
She followed as Balthazar quickly turned a corner and headed behind the building. There, he quickly hopped onto his Harley and sped off before Sasha could get her hands on him.  
Sasha swore allowed and jogged to the main road – she wasn't about to waste any more time.  
By now, it was around six thirty in the morning and some people –surprisingly- awoke at that ungodly hour of the morning and went to work.

A BMW drove by with a man in his early thirties behind the wheel. Sasha almost had to get herself run over for him to even notice she was there.  
The wheels came screeching to a halt beside her as the window rolled down, "What are you doing out here in the middle of a rainstorm?"  
"I need your car." she told him.  
He laughed before she yanked the car door open and dragged him out, "I ain't asking."  
She left him standing in the pouring rain and drove as fast as she could without hydroplaning.  
By now, Balthazar had to be at least fifteen minutes ahead of her.

She drove for a few miles before a chugging, coughing noise came from the car's engine. It soon came to a stop and no matter how hard she tried, the engine would not start.  
Sasha sighed, noticing that the asshole car owner neglected to refill the tank. So she grabbed her rucksack and headed for the nearest house by the main road.  
She knocked on the door as lightning flashed just a few yards away.  
A young man opened the door with eyes greener than anything Sasha had ever seen.  
When he saw her, he smiled like she was an old friend but before he got the chance to talk, Sasha decided on her story, "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you. My car broke down and my phone's dead. Would I be able to use yours to call a tow?"

As two more men arrived at the door, an 'innocent' smile appeared on her face.  
Of course, she wasn't planning on calling a tow. She just wanted to make them comfortable.  
What was she really planning to do?  
Well, she'd make that up as she went along.


End file.
